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Physical workload of pre-school teachers
MARUŠOVÁ, Pavla
This diploma thesis deals with the physical burden for teachers in kindergartens in relation to the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders among teachers. The main objective was to examine the physical demands of the profession of preschools educational staff. The work is divided into theoretical part and practical part.The research was conducted using qualitative method of semi-structured interviews with kindergartens teachers and LIFT / BEND score calculation. Fifteen teachers from three of kindergartens in the South Bohemian region participated in this research. Data from the interviews were evaluated by encoding method according to Švaříček and Šedivová (2007) and divided into schemes with a description. LIFT/BEND score was calculated according to Kovářová (2006) methodology. The calculation was based on the evaluation of the frequency of lifting, bending and handling of children.Reasearch questions were also answerd during the reasearch. The first research question contains "Is there a difference in the frequency of performing physically challenging activities in relation to the length of work experience in preschool facilities?" It was found that there is no difference between teachers in physical performance in relation to the length the practice. The analysis was performed using the LIFT / BEND score calcutation and testimonies of teachers in the interviews. The majority of teachers with the length of service over 20 years stated that avoids positions and activities that are unpleasant to them, such as kneeling, tying childrens shoes, bending over tables and more. Frequency of activities between younger and older teachers are not much different, but differ in subjective way of carrying out physically demanding tasks. The second research question is: "Is age a significant variable in the occurrence of musculoskeletal diseases?" From the primary perspective can be determined that age gains more musculoskeletal trouble, but according to the testimony of teachers and statistical evaluation, this relationship has not been confirmed. Age of teachers is not prerequisite for the development of musculoskeletal problems. According to nonparametric Spearman correlation this relationship is not statistically significant.From the findings of this research as well as international authors who have examined the relationship between physical load of lifting and bending while performing work in the so-called helping profession, age factor and length of service exhibits no significant importance, and vice versa occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders significantly affects the way of carrying out these activities in terms of their proper implementation. Therefore it should be ensured that teachers recieve education in health during preparations for their future careers.
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The issue of children´s beds at kindergartens
MARUŠOVÁ, Pavla
In my thesis I deal with a possible relation between the cots in nurseries and the increasing number of children with a poor posture. The aim is to map the condition of these cots and to determine the extent to which they sag if loaded. For my research I chose České Budějovice region, particularly two nurseries in České Budějovice and one nursery in Blatná.The theoretical part describes the development and function of the musculoskeletal system in the period from birth to 6 years of age and also depicts the growth of a preschool child's body. One of the chapters is devoted to the physical activity, which is an important instrument in the prevention of the improper organism development. Also, I describe the anatomical changes caused by the poor posture. An important part of the preschool child's daily program is the afternoon rest when children have to stay in beds. In my work I focus on the case of plastic beds where the standards are still very benevolent, although it is problematic. .The practical part consists of an objective measurement of the beds as well as data acquisition and its analysis with using of questionnaires. The research included 70 beds at three nurseries that have many years of experience with the plastic beds. Data were subsequently statistically evaluated.In my measurements, I was looking at the distance between the floor and the grate of the bed and how it changes without and with the load (the degree of sag). I registered the presence or absence of the mattress as well as the age of the bed, its manufacturer, storage of the beds and how they are handled in general. The collected data were used to confirm the original hypothesis: "The cots at the nurseries do not provide firm back support for children." To evaluate this hypothesis, the T test was used to calculate the statistical significance of sagging of the beds. The beds fitted into the range that has been designated by the recommended requirements for a solid back support. The null hypothesis is therefore not valid. The second hypothesis was evaluated using quantitative method of questionnaires. The questionnaires were completed by 154 respondents. This group was made up of parents of children from the three nurseries. The results showed that 98% of children of the questioned parents spend the afternoon rest time at the nursery in the bed. Statistical evaluation of the second hypothesis of the chi -square test confirmed: "More than two-thirds of the preschool children have no subjective symptoms related to the back pain." Even though statistically I cannot establish a link between the poor posture of children and the quality of the cots at nurseries, I came out with the finding that at two of the three nurseries they do not use mattresses, which leads to the greater degree of sag and also the sufficient thermal isolation is not provided. In the research, the children already diagnosed with the poor posture did occur; therefore it is necessary to look for other causes of their orthopedic problems. It should be mentioned that the pediatricians may improve the condition of children by the proper examination of the musculoskeletal system and not underestimating of the rehabilitative care. The system also includes professionals in the sphere of the protection of public health, who play the important role not only as the controllers, but mainly as the advisors.
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